Quad, 15 other nations kick off military drills in Australia

A multi-nation military exercise in Indo-Pacific named 'Talisman Sabre' kicked off in Australia today. The Quad -- India, US, Japan and Australia – are among the 19 nations in the exercise.

This is the 11th edition of Talisman Sabre, the largest and most sophisticated warfighting exercise ever conducted in Australia, the Australian Ministry of Defence said.

Over the next three weeks, more than 35,000 military personnel from Australia and partnering nations will deploy across Queensland, Northern Territory, Western Australia, New South Wales and Christmas Island. Activities will also be conducted outside of Australia in Papua New Guinea.

In addition to the Quad countries, other nations in the exercise are Canada, Fiji, France, Germany, Indonesia, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Papua New Guinea, the Philippines, South Korea, Singapore, Thailand, Tonga, and the UK. Malaysia and Vietnam will also attend as observers.

This year’s exercise will consist of live-fire exercises and field training activities, incorporating force preparation activities, amphibious landings, ground force manoeuvres, and air combat and maritime operations.